


A Little Twi-lek's Big Adventure

by OKami_hu, oksammich



Category: Original Work, Star Wars: The Old Republic
Genre: Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-12
Updated: 2013-01-12
Packaged: 2017-11-25 04:13:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/634987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OKami_hu/pseuds/OKami_hu, https://archiveofourown.org/users/oksammich/pseuds/oksammich
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Original story set in the Star Wars universe. A child runs off and a journey begins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Twi-lek's Big Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is yet another co-authored piece. My partner and I have started the story in 2012 and I finally decided to place it online. 
> 
> Chapters are all ridiculously long, and I'm not going to hurry with the updates. You'll have plenty of time to tell us if you like it or hate it. ^^
> 
> Canon characters will not make an appearance, like, ever. Aside the universe, everything is ours. The story takes place roughly 100 years before the Clone Wars. If there is some important lore we missed, please do notify us.

She wasn’t interested in her dolls if it meant she had to play by herself. Papa always made the boy dolls have funny voices, and he did a cool explosion sound with his mouth that always made their pretend adventures sound real. They hadn’t played together in about a week now. She understood that he was busy a lot, so she didn’t bother him too much, but still... she didn’t like when they visited Keren. Papa only came back to the ship late, late at night and gave her kisses when he thought she was asleep. Truth was, Seku always struggled to stay awake until Papa kissed her goodnight.

She liked the Kala’uun Starport much more. The one on Keren meant she was by herself. The one on Ryloth meant that the beautiful Zeltron lady Adullah would come visit. Adullah and Papa played together, and after Papa was asleep, Adullah took Seku with her back to the house she shared with all the most beautiful girls in the whole universe (Papa told her so!). There, Seku didn’t have to pretend to be a boy anymore. She got to wear dresses and shiny shoes, and she got to dance and eat all the candies and fruits and sweetbreads she possibly could fit in her stomach.

There were no nice Zeltron in Keren. There weren’t even any nice Twi’lek or humans or Togruta or Chiss or.. or anything! Papa usually left some friendly-ish guards to watch over her while he left, but the one she had that day was no fun at all. He was a Kaleesh with skinny shoulders and an angry scowl, and he smelled like stinky and smoke. When Seku approached, he didn’t even look down. His fingers jerked every so often, like her Papa’s did when he needed his pipe. She tried to engage him in conversation, but he completely ignored her; when she brought her toys out into the hallway where he’d been standing, she found that he was gone.

Standing in her long overalls, the straps clipped to the bib with two mismatched clasps--courtesy of her father’s handiwork, Seku Tarkona’s hands balled onto her flat hips and she let out a low, unhappy sigh. Her feet were lost in over-sized boots, which were far too wide and reached up to her knees, the rounded toe flopping against the grated ground as she toddled forward. Normally, she would go back into her room and try to practice her letters, but she was _bored_. Either he was going to play with her, or she was going to find her Papa. But where could he be?

The ship wasn’t very big--the landing ramp against the starboard side opened directly into the hallway. Down the back of the hall were three doors lined side-by-side. These made up their bedrooms: Papa’s across from the landing ramp, Seku’s in the middle, and an empty one near the stern. On the floor in front of her room, there was a pull-up door that revealed creaking, rusted stairs. These descended to the kitchen area and the moldy bathroom that was tucked right under Papa’s room. He got headaches from it sometimes and complained that the sink flooded, but for some reason, he never got around to fixing anything. She guessed that it was because he only had one eyeball. Having only one eyeball would make it hard for him to use a hammer or a wrench without hitting his fingers. While it was funny to listen to Papa say all sorts of bad words and hop around when he crushed something vital, she didn’t want him to hurt himself.

Maybe Mr. Kaleesh was using the potty? She wasn’t big enough to open the pull-up door by herself, but Papa usually left it up when he went down to--what did he call it? Um... leak. Yes, when he went to leak. She dropped her toys carelessly on the ground, the pretty princess human rolling against her ankle. Her fingers twisted around the stretched fabric of her undershirt, which was faded and stained--the newest one was because of this hot drink she’d spilled because it burned her tongue. When she sighed, she was able to pick up the scent of smoke, and immediately, she bent at her waist to peek down the landing ramp.

Papa hadn’t left the landing ramp down. Mr. Kaleesh did! He was standing in the street and smoking with his back facing the ship--talking to those girls, no doubt. With a grin, she absently kicked her doll down the incline, not even paying attention as it rolled into the street. She covered her mouth and nose with her hands because she giggled a lot when she was trying to be sneaky. Mr. Kaleesh’s voice was nice, but he was talking deep, like he was going to impress his audience. He was so focused on them, that even when she crept through his peripheral vision, he didn’t even bat an eyelash. She knew he couldn’t see her! Her chest tightened, a snort escaping through her pinched nose as she inched her way down the ramp--she was going to scare him so bad!

“Pass it, pass it!”

Three human boys were running through the space port. Two were about eight feet apart and sprinting hard, while a bigger boy was trying to either kick at their shoes or at the ball they were kicking. Before the big boy could kick the ball, one of the smaller ones kicked it to his friend, a chubby kid with freckles and wild brown hair. A cry of frustration emerged from the big boy, while the other two laughed.

That wasn’t very fair, was it? Her previous mission forgotten, she watched the trio bound past the Kaleesh and his girls, Seku and her ramp, then finally, the ship.

Hadn’t they noticed that she was there? She could make it fair! Two against two was better!

“Hey! Hey!” She charged after them, surprisingly quick despite the massive shoes that threatened to trip her with each step. “Let me play!”

The big boy and the fat boy kept running, but the third turned to look at her. He was a little taller than her, and his eyes were big and brown. “You wanna play with us? Okay... I’m Neris. What’s yer name?”

“Inun!” Papa told her to always say Inun, never Seku. If she said Seku, big men would pick her up and carry her away and she’d never see Papa again. He smiled at her and she smiled back, her chest swelling with pride as he called to his pals: “Inun’s gonna play!”

She followed him, leaving the safety of the ship behind. She wasn’t nervous, though, because Naboo was a nice place. It was clean and there was even a big river that ran right through it! These boys looked okay, too. They were dressed better than her--there was even a fat one! He must’ve been real rich! When she approached, the big boy and the fat boy looked down at her with weird, pinched expressions. “Who’s gonna be my partner?” she asked, her short lekku curling tightly in excitement. Papa made her wear this weird cap when they went outside--if she took that off, he said that those big men would come take her away, too. Grown-ups were weird. “I won’t let ‘em take the ball! I’m real fast an--”

“I don’ wanna play with him,” the bigger one whined, bringing all her joy to a screeching halt. Her mouth actually dangled open when he continued. “He’s too little.”

The fat boy agreed with a nod of his head. To her heartbreak, Neris was nodding too. “Yeah. He’ll hurt himself and we’ll get in trouble.”

“I am not too little--”

“Sorry, Inun,” Neris said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe next time.”

The big boy kicked the ball toward the outer wall across the walking street. He was done with the conversation. “Please, Neris? Please? I’m really fast and I _promise_ I won’t hurt myself!”

“I don’t wanna play with a baby!” Big Boy called over his shoulder now, stumbling as the ball bounced back across the street.

She stamped her foot on the ground. Her stomach was hurting and her eyes were welling up with stupid tears. Boys didn’t cry! Papa told her she had to be a boy! “I’m not a baby, you.. you _Nerf herder_!”

Big Boy turned around after scooping up the ball and holding it against his hip. Jabbing his finger at her, he made an ugly face again. “You are a baby. Go back home to your mommy so she can change your diapers, you baby!”

Fattie was behind him, bouncing from one foot to the other. A big smile split his face so it looked like a butt. “Yeah! Go to your mommy!”

Spurred on by his friend, he continued. “And you know what? You’re an ugly baby. You’re an ugly baby wormhead! And your mommy’s an ugly wormhead!”

Her throat was so tight that she couldn’t even talk. Hands balled at her sides, she hated herself for not being big and strong. She wasn’t a baby and she wasn’t a wormhead and she wasn’t ugly! Papa had told her about how beautiful her mama was, too, so she wasn’t an ugly wormhead, so they were wrong! They were stupid and they were wrong!

No doubt they had left her to cry, the three boys turning away with Big Boy holding the ball under his arm. Well, she wasn’t going to cry. Instead, she chased after them, zeroing in on Big Boy’s crazy blonde hair. He screamed like a girl when she grabbed it. She was too short to hold on for very long, so he easily turned around to face her--she was too short for him to get a good grip on, too. She took aim at his gut and jumped forward, hitting his diaphragm with the crown of her head. He couldn’t scream that time. Instead, he made a weird gasping sound and fell straight onto his back, letting the ball roll from his grip and off to the side.

Neris and Fattie stared at her, dumbfounded.

She was dumbfounded, too.

While Big Boy tried to get his wind back, Fattie’s mind slowly ticked back into functionality. “Hey! You stupid wormhead! I’m gonna kill you!”

She had no doubt that he was going to do that. So she ran.

But not without first getting that ball. “You’re s-stupid, too! An’... an’ I’m gonna play by _myself_!” she cried.

Like father, like daughter--at any sign of trouble, she closed her eyes, lowered her head, and ran straight forward. It never crossed her mind that she was getting farther and farther away from the ship. That wasn’t her concern. She just ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, clinging to that ball with all her strength and praying that Big Boy would stay down for a while. He could probably catch her. He would definitely rip off her lekku for her making him scream.

So she ran. And ran. And ran. Under skirts, between legs, around couples, corners, signs, vendors, down streets, up streets, through alleys, over bridges, running and running and running...

Her lungs finally hurt, so she stopped to catch her breath. Her feet were hurting, too, no doubt blistered from tiny toes in big, big shoes. In her panic, she’d somehow managed to lose one of the clasps on her overalls, so a strap dangled down against the front of her thigh. She still had the ball, though, she remembered triumphantly. She felt its cracked hide between her hands, the dust on it mixing with her sweat to make her palms grimy and gross-feeling. She stood completely motionless, blue eyes squeezed shut. They’d be yelling if they were still chasing her. She couldn’t hear anyone yelling.

In fact...

She didn’t hear space port sounds.

At. All.

The right eye opened, and to her shock, tall buildings loomed down at her, scarier than a dozen Big Boys. Their surfaces were pristine, so shiny that she could see her own dirty reflection staring back at her. There were people around, but they didn’t look anything like the ones near the ship. These people were almost all human and they were dressed even better than the three boys. They had pretty, glossy hair, the women in painted faces that would make even Miss Adullah jealous. Their clothes were so clean that Seku was worried that she’d get them dirty by even looking at them. So she stopped doing that immediately. Her eyes dropped to the ground, peering at the surface between her big brown boots. Would she get in trouble for getting this dirty, too?

Slowly, she straightened up. Her cap was still on and nobody knew she was Seku. To her relief, she spied no big, scary men lurking about. Seku Tarkona wasn’t scared. Really, she wasn’t.

Papa would be mad at her if she wasn’t on the ship when he got back. Thankfully, the sun was still in the sky, but she’d eaten her leftover Giddy Kiddy Meal for lunch already, so that meant it was late in the day. Papa wouldn’t get back until dark. She could find her way back before then! All she needed to do was find the ships.

Only... she couldn’t see any ships. There were buildings everywhere, pushed close together so she knew she’d just have to guess at a direction. She kinda wished that the grown-ups would look down at her, but nobody did. Seku could ask where the ships were. She was a good girl, though, and knew that she could get in big, big trouble if she talked to the wrong adult. Papa had told her all about the bad grown-ups. They liked little pink Twi’lek girls and even if they were nice, sometimes they would steal little pink Twi’lek girls away. She’d once been confident that Papa could find her no matter if somebody took her away. But when she told him this, his eyeball got sad and he made a face that hurt her heart and lekku so badly.

“No, Seku,” Papa had said, “These bad people will take you away and even if Papa looked for all of his life, he’d never find you again.”

A woman made eye contact with her, and immediately Seku felt her heart jump to her throat. The lady’s eyes were bright blue and eerie, and her hair looked as glossy as an oil slick, hanging in small tails all around her thin, pretty face. Still, Seku was terrified of her. She hugged the ball close to her chest, picked a direction, and marched. Then she ran.

She stopped in an alley, which was like the city, clean. No bags and yucky stains on the walls. It was lighter too, than most alleys Seku had hid at before; it was not a good hiding place at all! But she was so scared and this was the best she got.

Seku dropped the ball and curled up. She pulled the hood down over her face and she started to cry. It was okay ‘cause she was alone.

How was she going to find the ships? Before dark even! Papa will be so worried if he won’t find Seku home, and he’ll be angry too, and Papa was scary when angry. He never hit Seku, but he frowned at her and his eyeball squinted and he said “I’m very disappointed!” and that made Seku feel very, very bad. She shouldn’t have left the ship. She shouldn’t have wanted to play with the boys. But she was so bored...!

The tears rolled down on her cheeks and she wiped them away with her fist, smearing dirt over her face. She was dirty and a bad girl, and she wanted home!

Footsteps crunched on the duracrete pavement and suddenly, a shadow fell over Seku. When she looked up, there was a tall, broad figure standing at the entrance of the alley, wrapped in a cloak. It looked menacing. Seku’s eyes widened and she scurried backwards. Was this one of the bad people that would take her away?

The stranger took a few steps forward and crouched down. Seku got to her feet. If he was going to grab her, she’d bite him! She growled, showing off her teeth. She had pointy teeth and those were good for biting.

The stranger shook back the hood of the cloak. He had horns all over his head and pale lines on his dark yellowish face, and orange eyes. A Zabrak, Seku remembered. Zabraks were scary.

But this one... he smiled. His eyes were really gentle and he offered a gloved hand. He had really pretty eyes... Seku looked into them and she felt better. This one was not one of the bad people. She could feel it. She stayed away though, because that was the smart thing to do.

The Zabrak looked her up, not the bad way, just curiously. Seku shuffled on her feet. The Zabrak was nicely dressed as well; the cloak was fine bantha wool and his boots a sturdy, shiny leather. Something was poking at the cloak around his hips on both sides, and it was not blaster handles.

He smiled again and tapped at his own chest, then pointed at his mouth and shook his head. Seku puckered her lips and frowned, trying to understand that.

“You’re mute!” She guessed finally. The Zabrak nodded. That made him look better. Bad people were loud people.

His fingers began to fold and bend slowly. Seku’s eyes sparkled. “Sign language!” She knew that! Papa taught her that.

The Zabrak laughed without a sound and nodded. His smile made Seku happy.

“Do you understand?” The fingers asked and Seku nodded vigorously. Maybe he knew the way to the ships. 

“Name?” the signs inquired.

“Um. Inun!” Seku declared. Nice or not, Papa taught her firmly to not tell her real name. The Zabrak tipped his head to the side and he raised a painted eyebrow. Seku shifted.

“What are you doing here?” the next question came.

She had two options: lie or tell the truth. If he knew Neris or Fattie or Big Boy, he might be mad, so she decided that she was going to tell a little bit of a lie. “I was walkin’,” she began, fingers lifting to her tchin, which curled around the digit like a sentient tail. Humans tended to cover their mouths when they lied--Twi’lek messed with their lekku. “And... I went the wrong way? I can’t see where the ships are any more.”

He was giving her a Look. It was scarier than any voice or threat of a spanking. Grown-ups sure knew how to be scary without saying a word. Even with his horns and both eyeballs, though, Mr. Zabrak’s Look was a lot less frightening than Papa’s. There were a few moments of awkward, motionless silence, and Seku was starting to feel guilt gnawing at her stomach. She was on the verge of admitting that she was a horrible girl for fighting with the boys and stealing their ball, when Mr. Zabrak’s hands moved again. “Which ship is yours?”

Her big blue eyes rolled around, then jerked to the right. Uh-oh. “I don’t know the letters. It’s grey and small. There’s a big wrinkly spot where Papa smashed the bow against a bigger ship.”

The Zabrak seemed to mull that over. He glanced into the distance then turned back to Seku.

“Father’s name?” Sign language didn’t leave much space for elaboration, but it got the job done.

“Maze. Maze Tarkona,” Seku replied. Papa had a nice name, and she was proud of that.

The Zabrak smiled again and nodded. He offered his hand once more, beckoning Seku closer.

“Come,” the fingers of his other hand told her. “Home.” His eyes were soft.

Seku inched closer. He really didn’t look bad. And he would take her back. That would be nice... She looked at him once again and she decided that this Zabrak was not scary, and not one of the bad people. She could trust her. She knew that.

She curled her fingers around his - his hands were so much bigger! The Zabrak smiled and patted her head. Seku giggled, the squealed as he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up, and seated her on his shoulders. Seku immediately grabbed two of his horns, even though she could feel him holding her securely.

“Can I grab your horns...?” she asked a little belatedly, and he nodded. Then he set out walking toward the docks. Seku could see far from his shoulders.

He was a very nice Zabrak indeed.

 

_“My people, the Twi’lek, have an ancient and rich history of non-violence. We prefer intellect and cleverness to outright brutality.”_

\--Tott Doneeta, Twi’lek Jedi Knight

His kriffing knuckles hurt now. He had a kriffing headache, a sore kriffing back, an ache in his kriffing lekku, and now this kriffing Kaleesh made him hurt his _kriffing hand!_ Maze stood over the downed man, teeth bared as he shook out his hand in preparation to see if he could break the bastard’s face any further. The Kaleesh had no protruding nasal cavity, so Maze was unfortunately unable to break his nose, but from the look on the guard’s face, he’d probably done something close. “One more time,” Tarkona seethed, his smile looking nothing short of horrifying between his rust-colored lips, “Tell me why you weren’t doing what I hired you to do.”

There were onlookers, but around Maze, there tended to be onlookers. His own face was a mess of scars, most of them small, but a few thick and ridged, especially around his right eye. He’d finally decided to cover the drooping eyelid with a strip of old white cloth, and while it helped disguise the chasm where a blue eye used to be, it tended to still attract a few wayward glances. So he was descended from a beautiful race-- there could still be ugly bastards in their ranks! And this ugly bastard was about to make another ugly bastard out of the horrified-looking Kaleesh. “He must’ve snuck out when I went to smoke--”

Maze drew his left fist back. His guard flinched. Good. That meant he was still hitting hard enough to get his point across. “When I get back, if I even smell you, I’m givin’ this ship a paint job with your brains.” He jabbed a stiff boot into the other male’s chest, making him scramble backwards on his heels and hands. “ _Git! Gaw’awn!_ ”

The Kaleesh jumped to his feet and took off in one direction. Maze turned and headed off the other way. There, her sculpted face covered in dust, Seku’s favorite doll smiled sweetly at him from the street. Seku had been so proud of the big, sparkly dress around the doll’s hips, but the dainty cloth was ripped and stained now. Still, he picked it up, dusted it off, and stowed it away in one of the numerous packs around his thick hips. “What you lookin’ at, you rottin’ barves?!” he snapped, jabbing his blaster in the direction of the small crowd gathered near his ship. “Git! _Git!_ ”

He didn’t wait around to hear whether or not they dispersed. He couldn’t hear that good, anyway. A blaster shot had taken care of most of the hearing in his right ear when it blew out the ocular nerve and the eye attached to it. The same shot removed a little over half of his tchin, which now dangled against the back of his neck in a hideous stump. At one point, he’d been self-conscious about it, but neither Hirani nor Seku thought any less of him, so he didn’t care any more.

He stalked along the small street, which stretched parallel to the dock, then followed it as it snaked sharply around a corner. He could just picture Hirani’s blue eyes welled up in pain, disappointment etched in her smooth, flawless face. How could you let someone lose her, Maze’swo?

She had to have wandered off. There was no way she would’ve gone with someone without making a fuss. He’d told her what to do if anybody ever grabbed her. She was supposed to bite and claw and scream and make all the noise she could. At least that way, he’d have a clue where to start. Since she was old enough to walk and understand him, he’d told her. He’d told her so many times...!

The pounding in his head spiked, and he knew it was because of fear. He’d told her not to leave the ship without him, too. This was a big city, full of scumbags just like Maze, and she was a pretty little Twi’lek girl. She’d make a beautiful dancer when she grew up, just like her mother. She’d never be able to make her own choices or travel where she wanted or learn what she wanted; she’d be someone’s plaything. His steps picked up, the long coat he wore flaring up behind him like ugly, tattered black lekku. They probably wouldn’t even wait until she was grown up. Sick bastards would touch her just like she was. Once she was cleaned up, dressed in something sheer, her owner would exercise his right to defile his property.

Something glinted in the street up ahead. It was a small pin, a cheap one he’d used when she broke the clasp on her overalls. Immediately, he felt his lunch turn in his stomach and threaten to push through his throat.

_It’s too late. She’s gone and it’s all your fault._

His big shoulders visibly slumped, but he kept walking. He’d search every corner of this kriffing city until he found some other trace of her. He’d get her back or he would die trying. Seku was all he had left in this kriffed-up universe.

For the next half-hour, the residents of Keren were exposed to a very angry, very noisy Twi’lek running through their streets, waving a blaster and yelling one strange word over and over: “Seku! Seku!”

It was ridiculous to think she’d managed to wander this far. This was the business side of the city, where all the rich barves strutted around in clothes that costed more than everything he’d ever owned. One of them had probably picked her up.

At this point, he was ready to just start screaming and shooting. It was better than wandering around like an idiot and hearing a familiar cadence of voice babbling endlessly--

“...N-U-N. Inun. See? I’m learnin’ my letters real good. I can spell Papa’s name. M-A-Z-E. I don’t know how to make the ‘Z’ though. It’s weird. It always looks like a monster when I make it. Do you know how to make a ‘Z’? I bet you do. You’re real smart, huh? That’s how you know to talk with your hands and that’s how you know where all the ships are..”

He thanked whatever kriffing gods in the sky that she never shut up. He swore he’d never tell her to be quiet again. He’d stay up and tell her all the stories she wanted. Hell, she could share his bed all she wanted and he’d buy her all the Giddy Kiddy Meals she wanted and he’d never, ever leave her with a lousy guard again.

“HAY!” His voice came sharp and unbidden, raising along with his blaster. “I see ya, sick bastard. Stop walkin’ and turn around slow. Don’t wanna get my boy all dirty.”

A Zabrak, huh? They were headed to the space port, Seku perched on his shoulders and hopefully talking his ear off. He hoped she’d pinched him or scratched him or done something horrible to his kriffing head. “Put your hands up. You take off runnin’ and I swear you’ll be bantha fodder.”

To his credit, the Zabrak stood there rather calmly, not moving an inch aside raising one hand; the other was still holding Seku, who just started to flail with elation.

“Papa, papa, PAPA!” She reached out for him and when the Zabrak set her on the ground carefully, she latched on to Maze’s leg.

“Papa!” She abruptly hopped back and peered up at him with big, innocent blue eyes. “Are you mad...?” She clasped her hands behind her back even.

The Zabrak watched vigilantly.

His throat was tight, single eye wet with joy, but that didn’t change a single muscle in his face. He kept his blaster trained on the Zabrak. “We’ll talk about this later, Inun.”

She tried to say something, but she was standing to his right, so he couldn’t hear her very well. He wasn’t exactly listening, either. “So, where were you taking him to, huh? Your type makes me sick. Give me one reason not to drop you right now.”

The tattooed visage didn’t change. It remained calm in the face of impending doom. However, the hands slowly began to dance, writing the signs of the smugglers’ secret language into the air.

“Can’t talk. Child lost. Brought it back.”

Seku grabbed her father’s pants and pulled at the fabric. “He’s mute. He found- We met,” she corrected. “He showed me the way, Papa, be nice! He’s not bad people. He carried me all the way!”

Maze didn't look impressed or even remotely convinced. His blaster didn't waver for a moment. "He lied to you. This is one of those bad men I've been telling you about."

The Zabrak's eyes were gentle, and they didn't make his lekku twitch. He was filled with a sense of calm that must've been caused by what he'd been drinking earlier. It didn't sit well with him, being relaxed. It made him more nervous instead. Seku's insistent tugging made him lean over so she could scale his right arm and latch to his shoulder. "He was going to ta--"

He locked up, eye wide when Seku's small fingers found a sensitive nerve under his tchin and pinched. The pain was immediate, a jolt of electricity he felt in the tips of his fingers and toes. "Papa. Listen." Seku wasn't giving him much choice but to play close attention. "He is good. He Is my friend. I'm very disappointed in you, Papa. You used bad words on my friend! And I invited him to dinner, too!"

The Zabrak looked away and covered his mouth with his gloved hand - to hide a smile, no doubt. Then, he tossed one side of his cloak over his shoulder, revealing neat clothes, a blaster, the sheath of a vibro-sword and a small bag. From the latter, he produced a datapad, switched it on with a flick of his thumb and handed it over.

Maze took it rather cautiously and grudgingly. It was a proper CV, those neat sheets of data legal crewmen used to hand over to their bosses. It contained some personal info, a - quite extensive - list of skills, and several notes added by ship captains the Zabrak had obviously worked with before. They all sang the guy’s praise, pointing out what a great addition he had been. Maze recognized the name of one large cargo ship on the list.

And on top of all that, nothing indicated that the guy had ever been convicted. Unless the document was a good forgery, he was clean.

“Fine.” He said gruffly, finally able to talk now that Seku stopped pinching his lekku. “He’s okay.”

“Now introduce yourself, Papa.”

She sounded so much like her mother, that soft, quiet guidance that must have been genetic, because he certainly wasn’t so wise. He felt her small, warm fingers on the top of his head, and with a little push, she made him look into the Zabrak’s face. “My name is Maze Tarkona.”

“An’ what do you say?”

Maze swallowed and dropped his blue eyes. He didn’t want her to be disappointed in him. “...thank you.”

The Zabrak - Val Shif, if one could believe the datapad - stepped closer. He waited until Maze looked up then tugged his gloves off and his strong hands curled into the sign of ‘you’re welcome’. Then he extended one for the Twi’lek and he smiled. Such an honest, open expression was a rare sight among the people Maze normally dealt with.

He didn’t want to shake his hand. But Seku was watching with her bright, inquisitive eyes, patiently waiting for her Papa to be good. Maze cleared his throat, then extended his right hand. His fingers were rough, the back of his hand covered in old lash marks from when he was younger. He took Val’s hand, gave it a squeeze and a pump, then jerked it back to his side. Seku piped up again. “And?”

“...would you like to have dinner with us.”

Shif took a half step back and bowed deeply with one hand curled into a fist in front of his chest while the other one covered it, like martial artists after a good duel. When he straightened, he signaled ‘thank you’. For the first time, he seemed slightly uncomfortable - maybe because he was somebody who’d express his gratitude more elaborately. 

Seku beamed at both men. The Zabrak glanced down at her and with a small smile, he addressed Maze.

“Your daughter is lovely.”

His dry lips twisted into a grin. He truly was proud that she’d turned out looking like her mother instead of him. Even before the scars, Maze Tarkona had never been a very handsome Twi’lek. Despite all his shortcomings, she seemed to be turning out well. “She’s my pride an’ joy.”

Why did it seem so strange to say that to another man? He’d just complimented his daughter!

Realization clicked on, setting his one good eye alight again. “Seku! Why did you tell him you were a girl?!”

He turned to look at the small form on his shoulder, fully expecting an expression of guilt or sheepishness. Seku, however, looked as surprised as he felt. “But I didn’t!” she protested. “I promise, Papa, I told him my name was Inun!”

The Zabrak named Val Shif stood with his hands folded in front of him and gave them a smile - this time, a mischievous one.


End file.
